Gabby (left) and friends
Cracked gear shift knob, Zeev's confrontation with hackysack girl, and a Yemenite restaurant.
Over the past two weeks I've been working some late hours with the Internet Team at Superstudio. I haven't said much about it so far, but soon it will be unveiled to the general public, and when that happens, I'll point you to the right place on the internet so you can see what we've been working on.
Today we finished the Beta version of the internet product, and it was time to blow of a little steam. I played a computer game called Duke Nuke'm for a little while with Zeev and Zeev (there are two of them at Superstudio), and then Zeev (the younger one) and I went to the center of Jerusalem to find something to eat.
While driving, I noticed the foam rubber covering on the gear shifter is cracked. In fact, the covering is so cracked that the gear shift knob is about to fall off. I wonder what kind of glue would best seal foam rubber? I haven't seen any hardware stores around, so it might be difficult to find the supplies I need.
After finding a parking space, we wandered the city streets in search of a place to eat. It was late and we walked past several restaurants that already seemed to be closing. Teenagers and tourists milled about the narrow stone streets. Suddenly, someone in the crowd called out Zeev's name, and a girl appeared demanding the return of her hackysack (a bean-filled leather bag used in a popular game). Her name was Gabby (short for Gabriela), and I would later learn that Zeev had not seen her for a couple of years. After admonishing Zeev for the missing footbag, she returned to sit with two friends on the sidewalk.
Afterward, Zeev and I continued our quest for food. We stopped at a Yemenite restaurant located in a busy alleyway. Outside there were tables, and we sat and watched people go by as we looked at the menu.
Most of the menu offered something called a "Malawa", with different fillings -- chicken, beef, mushrooms. I ordered the beef and mushroom Malawa, and Zeev also recommended that I try the Yemenite tea. Zeev is intrigued by the fact that the Yemenites drank the exact same tea four thousand years ago.
While waiting for the food, Zeev explained a little about Yemenite history. It seems there was a group of Jews that broke off from the rest several thousand years ago and started a little country called "Yemen". They brewed a special tea and made Malawas for a while, and then a man from the main group of Jews came to ask them to come back. When they said no, the visitor didn't take it very well -- in fact, he cursed the whole country. Well, it appears that everyone has gotten over that little business by now, because here we are eating Malawas in Jerusalem.
The waitress brought out a plate that was half occupied by a semicircular, flaky pastry. Inside the pastry was filled with ground beef, mushrooms, and onions. The rest of the plate was salad stuff. It was tasty.
The gear shift knob fell off on the way home.